


Love It or List It

by honestgrins



Series: Come Sail Away [1]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Crossovers and Fusions, F/M, Klaroline AU Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-18 06:39:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12382926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: Caroline and Klaus are the popular hosts of HGTV's Love It or List It, and Bonnie is a huge fan. Their banter is so fun to watch, it's hard to believe they're not a real couple...





	Love It or List It

"But are they going to Love It…" Klaus smirked into the camera, winking.

"Or List It?" Caroline finished with a gentle hip-check to her co-host.

Bonnie avidly watched as the director called, "Cut!" to huddle with the cameraman, waving over the famous faces that filled her screen on a near-daily basis. "I still can't believe you got us on the show," she whispered excitedly to her wife.

Shrugging, Nora smoothed a smudge from Bonnie's lipstick. "It was the only way I could get you to consider a remodel. I figured you would be too distracted by  _Klaroline_  to put up a real fight."

"Oh, we're definitely moving," Bonnie automatically dismissed, "but we'll be moving into a house Caroline Forbes finds for us!"

The tenacious real estate agent always managed to find amazing contenders for the show, a seemingly perfect house that miraculously matched the buyers' demands. For Bonnie, it was like watching magic, and she didn't always understand how the clients turned down a dream home.

Except when she saw their  _real_  home redesigned with the Klaus Mikaelson touch, then it made sense. His artistic eye created a magic all its own, taking what was outdated and turning it into something beautiful.

"And can it on the Klaroline teasing, okay?" Bonnie quietly begged, embarrassed. "They'd just make a really cute couple."

She wasn't much for following celebrities, she preferred books and TV for her dramatic consumption. But if Bonnie had to choose a "will they, won't they" couple to buy tabloids about, Klaus and Caroline's chemistry would be worth the money. They were fiercely competitive with each other, despite keeping the trash talk at a light flirt. Entertainment blogs swore there was something going on between the interior designer and the realtor off-camera - they even had their own ship name - and she wanted to believe it was true.

The director had ushered her cameraman toward the living room, leaving behind her hosts bickering like an old married couple. Even as Nora pulled her toward them, Bonnie couldn't resist hanging onto the details of their murmured conversation. "You already shook on it, sweetheart. Surely you're not afraid of losing our wager."

Bristling, Caroline bit back her response when she saw their guests eyeing them in intrigue. "Hey," she effortlessly slid into a friendly host mode. "Are you two ready to talk about dream homes?"

"They're already in it, love," Klaus countered. "But we should discuss what it will take to make  _this_  home everything you want it to be."

"And," Caroline broke in, "how to make this a good experience for you both. Klaus and I can get competitive with each other, but this process isn't about us at all. I mean, I do have the better record so far-"

Klaus cleared his throat, amused. "However, these are your lives. We start with your ideas and desires, and you make final decisions. Period."

Caroline nodded in agreement. "Seriously, we may be total control freaks, but this is your show. Please don't hesitate to get us back on track for your vision, especially if this one tries to incorporate red walls and brown leather everywhere."

Holding his hand to his heart, Klaus's light tone was defensive. "I'm a professional, and I can appreciate that not everyone shares my impeccable taste for rich, warm tones."

"Can you? Can you really?"

Her cheeks hurting from smiling, Bonnie loved watching the back and forth between them. Even Nora was holding back a laugh until two quick snaps from the living room caught their attention."

"Children," the director called, clearly used to the banter. "Time to talk priorities. Enzo's all set up to film."

"Thanks, Kat," Caroline answered. She linked elbows with Bonnie, winking at Nora as she lead the way through the door. "Come on, let's talk about your dream house. I've got some great listings lined up for inspiration."

"Cheating's beneath you, love."

Glancing over her shoulder, Caroline stuck out her tongue. "Be ready to pay up, Mikaelson."

Bonnie turned up a curious gaze. "Pay up?"

"Running bet," Caroline shrugged.

Kat corralled them into position before Bonnie could ask more, because - damn - that was an interesting tidbit.

What did her favorite duo have as a running bet?

* * *

Klaus's hand scribbled over the tentative remodel plans, scratching notes as Nora rattled off her ideas. Bonnie, though, kept looking for hints that he and Caroline were closer than their audience knew. She had long since clocked a complete lack of wedding rings or mentions of significant others, but the way he kept sneaking glances to his co-host while she chatted with Kat had to mean something.

Right?

"Did you have any questions, Bonnie?" Klaus asked expectantly.

Blinking, she realized she had been staring a bit too pointedly at his face. "Um, no," she stammered. Her chest swelled with a sudden intake of breath. "How long have you and Caroline been working together?"

He smiled easily, shrugging off the non-sequitur. "The show's been running for three years."

Simple, direct - not nearly enough for Bonnie. "Caroline mentioned her record is better," she prodded. "Do you guys really keep score? Trade a trophy back and forth, maybe?"

A smaller grin, almost shy, pulled at his lips. "The satisfaction of winning is rarely enough," he answered, cryptic. "Raising the stakes makes things interesting."

Coughing delicately, though, Nora tried to bring the conversation back. "About the floors…" She sent a chastising look to her wife, lacing their fingers together in mild apology at another tempting thread of information lost. "I'd really prefer tile over laminate for the basement.

* * *

Crowded together on the front porch of Caroline's latest listing, Bonnie and Nora heatedly discussed their reactions to the seemingly charming ranch house - until they saw the inside. "I know it's superficial," Nora defended, "but the murals are creepy and too much."

"They can be painted over," Bonnie argued, though she definitely held back a shiver at the bad feeling some of the more lurid images inspired. "The closets were huge."

Nora snorted incredulously. "I'm still stuck on the frowning woman. She's just frowning, in every room. I can't imagine why anyone would want to paint the same woman over and over, let alone with such a grimace."

Shaking her head, Caroline locked the front door, careful to avoid looking at Enzo and the camera he held. "Artist types," she muttered simply. "They never want to give up a muse."

Enzo choked on a laugh, only for Caroline to glare at him after all. "Shut up."

With a puzzled tilt of her head, Bonnie wondered at the exchange and the possible clues it held for the mystery of Caroline's personal life. However, Nora started to gloat about how great the bathroom renovation was looking back home, and her hopes dwindled at finding another house in time for the final decision.

* * *

"No hard feelings," Caroline promised, giving both Nora and Bonnie goodbye hugs. They had finally chosen to love their remodeled home, even with Bonnie's stubborn insistence that moving was the only option she would accept. With the decision wrapped, the filming team was ready to take on the next project. "This place looks beautiful."

"Thank you, love." Klaus winked at Caroline and offered them a cordial handshake, though his charming smile was warmer after weeks of working together. "I hope you both enjoy it to the fullest."

Nora gave a private smile, squeezing her wife's hip. "We intend to. Thank you both so much, for everything."

"The pleasure was ours," Klaus answered. "Mine more than Caroline's, I'd wager."

With narrowed eyes, Caroline shook her head ruefully at the obvious pun. "Don't get cocky, there's always the next one. And it's easy to be happy for Bonnie and Nora getting to fall in love with their home all over again."

Bonnie waved as they continued to bicker all the way out of the house, wishing she had shored up the courage to ask what she really wanted to know. "They're totally dating, right?"

Letting out an amused sigh, Nora sidled up to where Enzo was packing away his camera. "Help my wife put her crazy theories to rest. Are Klaus and Caroline together, or what?"

The cameraman smirked, like he had been expecting a similar question all along. "Who, those two? That'd be a contentious marriage, to be sure. They do complement each other, I'll give them that - but they're both pretty private, you'd have to ask them."

"Do you know what their bet is, at least?" Bonnie asked.

But he shook his head, "Sorry, darling. Ignorance is bliss."

Sadly, Bonnie watched them leave. Despite the unsatisfying non-answer as to their relationship status, a part of her would still hold out hope for Klaroline.

They seemed so good together.

* * *

Letting himself into his own dream home, Klaus made his way to the back patio with the fresh art supplies he'd made a special trip to buy. "I think I want to focus on the line of your neck, brightened by the moonlight," he announced, smirking at the nearly naked blonde waiting for him. Grateful for the privacy fence surrounding their property, he dropped a kiss on her resigned pout.

Caroline set aside her phone with a mournful sigh, her silk robe snagging on the patio chair as she turned to face him. "Does that mean I can put on pants? My ass is freezing."

"You know the rules, sweetheart," he teased. Sitting beside her, his lips fell to graze the edge of her robe, slipping it aside so he could nibble at her bare skin. "I win a tastefully nude model, you win a naughty massage. No one likes a sore loser."

She snorted, leaning into his touch. "You married one," she pointed out. "Enjoy your victory while it lasts, hubby, because I will win the next one."

The corners of his lips turned up, and she could feel him smile against her neck. "Whatever you say, love."


End file.
